14 Amazing Movies About Remarkable People Who Defied the Odds

"The Theory of Everything" tells the remarkable story of physicist Stephen Hawking, who revolutionized the way we think of the universe, despite being stricken with a motor neuron disease when he was just 21. He was given only two years but defied the odds, at age 72, still alive today. He is confined to a wheelchair and cannot speak except through a computer, but his book "A Brief History of Time" is not only a best-seller, but made the Big Bang and black holes something regular folks could understand.

We all love the story of someone who succeeds against incredible odds, whether they're fighting disease, prejudice, poverty, imprisonment, injustice or a physical or mental limitation. Here's to the triumph of the unbowed human spirit depicted in these films that are (mostly) inspired by the actual struggles of real people.